Force of Nature Natalia

  • Archive - Festival 35
  • Director: Gerald Fox
  • United Kingdom 2019
  • 82 minutes
  • English
  • Subtitles in Hebrew

Natalia Petrovna Osipova, now 33 and a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, is one of the leading artists in the world of ballet. The title Force of Nature comes close to what she is onstage.

Gerald Fox takes us to Osipova’s origins and training in Russia, where she stood out as a young ballerina in that glorious and punishing dance culture. The film follows her beyond Russia, to her interpretations of the classics of the ballet repertory and to the creation of new works of modern dance. We observe Osipova as an apparition of lightness onstage, but also as an artist of steely strength and will. In rehearsals, the Russian-born choreographer and former ballerina Natalia Makarova feels that force after Osipova grabs her arm: “She’s so strong. I have bruises.” Tactile and sublime, Force of Nature is a revelation.

Filmography: Bill Viola: The Road to St Paul's (2017), Marc Quinn - Making Waves (2014), Mother's Milk (2011), Sitting Ducks (2003).


  • Director Gerald Fox
  • Production Gerald Fox, Alexandrina Markvo, Justine Waddell
  • Cinematography Steve Haskett
  • Editing Miranda Watts
  • Participants Natalia Osipova, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jonathan Goddard, Natalia Makarova Kevin O'Hare
  • Source Gerald Fox